Reginald Hudlin

Early life

Hudlin was born in Centreville, Illinois, the son of a teacher couple. Hudlin's older brother, Warrington Hudlin, is also a film director, as well as an actor and producer.

The Hudlins grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family had deep roots. The Hudlin Brothers are paternal great-great-grandsons of Peter and Nancy Hudlin, who were part of the Underground Railroad. Their great uncle was tennis instructor Richard A. Hudlin, who mentored Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.

The Hudlins attended Katherine Dunham's Center for the Performing Arts, an experimental school, Warrington for high school and Reginald for after school martial arts classes. Hudlin has said that the experience was formative, and led to his older brother attending Yale University, and his attending Harvard University. In 1979, Hudlin graduated from Assumption Catholic High School in East St. Louis.

While an undergraduate at Harvard University, Hudlin directed his thesis project, a short film called House Party, which received numerous awards including first place at the Black American Cinema Society Awards. The film was inspired by his experience growing up in East St. Louis. In 1983, Hudlin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a B.A. in Visual and Environmental Studies. His short film thesis was the basis for his first feature film, House Party.

Career

Film and television

After college, Hudlin and his brother formed a production company and made music videos for such artists as Heavy D, Jamaica Boys, and others. They additionally created the "Hey Love" 1980s TV commercial for a various-artists compilation record, that played regularly on late night TV.

Hudlin directed—with older brother Warrington producing—his first feature-length film, 1990's teen comedy House Party, which starred hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. The film, distributed by New Line Cinema, was, according to Variety, one of the most profitable films of the decade. New Line wanted to make sequels, but the Hudlins did not feel the compensation or deals were adequate.

Hudlin directed 1992's Boomerang, again with older brother Warrington producing. The film was a big-budget romantic comedy that starred Eddie Murphy, who had a term deal at Paramount Pictures and hired the Hudlin Brothers because he liked House Party. It starred an all-black cast that included Robin Givens, Halle Berry, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, and Chris Rock. A celebration of the 25th anniversary of Boomerang's release was held on July 1, 2017, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., with a conversation between Hudlin and producer George Alexander.

In 1992, while making Boomerang, Hudlin wrote the animated film Bebe's Kids, which was championed by Paramount's Brandon Tartikoff, and was made in memory of comedian Robin Harris, who had died in 1990. In 1994, the Hudlin Brothers produced the HBO anthology television film Cosmic Slop, of which Hudlin directed the segment "Space Traders". The segment is an adaptation of the short story "The Space Traders" by Derrick Bell, found in Bell's book Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. He then directed The Great White Hype (1996), The Ladies Man (2000), Serving Sara (2002), two episodes of the ABC TV series Modern Family, an episode of The Office, an episode of The Middle, and several episodes of Outsourced. He was a recurring producer and director of The Bernie Mac Show for three years.

From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was the President of Entertainment for BET. Notable shows shepherded by Hudlin at that time included the documentary series American Gangster and Sunday Best, a gospel-music singing-competition show. Hudlin created The BET Honors and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Since 2013, Hudlin has been executive producer of the NAACP Image Awards.

Comics & Graphic Novels

Hudlin wrote the Marvel Comics series Black Panther from 2005 to 2008, including the 2006 storyline "Bride of the Panther," which saw the character marry X-Men leader Storm. In 2015, DC Comics announced that Hudlin and artists Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle would be part of the relaunch of the publisher's Milestone Media imprint, founded by Cowan, Dingle and Dwayne McDuffie. The comic line returned in September 2020 with the Hudlin-penned Milestone Returns #0. Hudlin contributed a story to the Black Panther Annual #1, released in February 2018.

In 2015, Hudlin joined the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 1986 chartered to protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community.

Personal life

In 2002, Hudlin married Chrisette Hudlin (née Suter), a public relations consultant, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They have two children.

Reginald Hudlin's lawyer at the time was Doug Emhoff. In 2013, Chrisette Hudlin set up Emhoff on a blind date with then-Attorney General of California and former Vice-President, Kamala Harris.

Filmography

Feature films

Producer only

Ride (1998)

Django Unchained (2012)

Burning Sands (2017)

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) (Executive Producer)

House Party (2023) (Executive Producer)

Documentary Appearances

Milestone Generations (2022) (Associate Producer)

Television

Executive producer only

Awards

1986: Black American Cinema Society (film archives of the Western States Black Research Center), Black Independent Video and Film-maker's Awards, $1,500 first prize for House Party (short)

1990: Sundance Film Festival, Filmmakers Trophy for House Party

1990: Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for House Party – nominee

1990: Deauville Film Festival, Critics Award for House Party – nominee

1991: Film Independent Spirit Award, Best First Feature for House Party – nominee

1991: Film Independent Spirit Award, Best Director for House Party – nominee

1995: CableACE, Dramatic or Theatrical Special for Cosmic Slop

2012: American Film Institute Awards 2012 for Django Unchained, Top 10 Films

2013: Academy Award for Best Picture for Django Unchained – nominee

2013: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama for Django Unchained – nominee

2013: PGA Awards, Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures for Django Unchained – nominee

2015: Comic Con, Icon Award

2016: African-American Film Critics Association, Salute to Excellence Award

2016: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program for 88th Academy Awards – nominee

Leadership and membership

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Board Member

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Board of Governors

Works and publications

Comics

McGruder, Aaron; Hudlin, Reginald; Baker, Kyle (illustrations) (2004). Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-1-400-08316-9. OCLC 54857618.

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Romita Jr., John (penciler); Janson, Klaus (inker); White, Dean (colors) (2005). Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-11748-3. OCLC 780282040.

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Tan, Billy (pencils); Buckingham, Mark (pencils) (2005). Marvel Knights Spider-Man [Vol. 04], Wild Blue Yonder. New York: Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-785-11761-2. OCLC 830159672. – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Marvel Knights Spider-man #13-18

David, Peter; Straczynski, J. Michael; Hudlin, Reginald; Wieringo, Mike (artist); Deodato, Mike (artist); Lee, Pat (artist) (2006). Spider-Man: The Other. New York: Marvel Pub. ISBN 978-0-785-12188-6. OCLC 62714568.

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Eaton, Scot (pencils) (2006). Black Panther: The Bride (Direct ed.). New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12107-7. OCLC 948817543.

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Eaton, Scot (penciler); Garcia, Manuel (penciler); Turnbull, Koi (penciler); To, Marcus (penciler) (2007). Black Panther: Civil War. New York, NY: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12235-7. OCLC 144224099.

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Portela, Francis (pencils) (2007). Black Panther: Four the Hard Way. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12655-3. OCLC 751756495. – Contains material originally published in single magazine form as: Black Panther #26-30

Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Portela, Francis (penciler); Rodriguez, Carlos (penciler); Sharpe, Kevin (penciler); Cafu (penciler); Portela, Francis (inks); Hennessy, Bit & Andrew (inks); Staples, Val (colors) (2008). Black Panther: Back to Africa. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12452-8. OCLC 540015636. – Also includes Black Panther: Black to the Future